The invention relates in general to tie downs for attaching and securing equipment and in particular to tie downs for attaching and securing equipment to the interior or exterior of vehicles.
Various tie downs are known for securing equipment to the interior or exterior of a vehicle. Some tie down methods use cargo webbing with ratcheting buckles, netting, and elastic cord (bungee cord). The known tie downs vary in safety, adaptability to different vehicles, and ease of use. In some environments, stowage of equipment and gear is a critical issue because the available space is very limited. Furthermore, failure of the tie down can result in property damage, injury, or death. A particularly harsh environment is a military theater of operations. Storage space, particularly interior storage space, is at a premium in armored vehicles that transport personnel and/or cargo. In addition, the armored vehicle may be subject to extreme shocks, such as shocks from substandard roads, hostile fire, and rollovers caused by explosive devices such as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). In such a harsh environment, the reliability of the tie downs and ease of use of the tie downs in cramped areas are critical factors.
Some buckles used with tie downs may be opened only when the buckle is not under load. A buckle that is designed to not open under load is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0071173 published on Mar. 25, 2010 in the name of Hortnagl. The entire contents of U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0071173 are expressly incorporated by reference herein. When buckles are used as part of a support for a human being, it is very important that the buckles not open under load. Otherwise, serious injury or death of the human may occur. On the other hand, in some cargo securing applications, it may be desirable to use a buckle that will open under load, for example, to save time in an emergency situation.
A need exists for a tie down that is safe, reliable, easy to use, readily adaptable to various configurations, and that includes an open under load buckle.